Blitzer
07-16-2009, 06:18
Should have buried his arse alive! :steamed:
Phony Combat vet is Freed
July 16, 2009
The Gazette, Colorado Springs,Colo.
<!-- Uncomment this when the Jive comments functionality is available --> A man who posed as a wounded Iraq war veteran walked out of the El Paso County jail in Texas free on Tuesday.
Richard Glen Strandlof -- who went by the name of Rick Duncan -- was released several hours after pleading guilty to unrelated charges of careless driving and not having a driver's license.
For his plea, a judge sentenced him to a $150 fine and 20 days in jail, plus one year of unsupervised probation. Strandlof had already served 21 days.
Using the Duncan alias, Strandlof had served as a leader of a statewide veterans group until three weeks ago, when he was exposed by other members of the group as a former psychiatric patient. His often emotional stories about being a wounded Marine captain and 9/11 survivor proved false.
FBI agents investigating the case arrested him three weeks ago on an El Paso County traffic warrant. Unable to post $1,000 bail, he had been in custody ever since.
Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit with a short haircut, Strandlof started the day by entering his plea before El Paso County Judge Jonathan Walker.
His public defender asked Walker to waive the usual court costs, noting that Strandlof didn't have much money.
"I don't believe you're being held on anything else, so you should be released," Walker said.
Although FBI agents made the initial arrest, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado has refused to confirm or deny whether Strandlof is under any federal investigation.
As Rick Duncan, Strandlof founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance, a group that worked to find transitional housing for homeless veterans.
The group disbanded in the wake of the revelations of Strandlof's fake military history, said Daniel Warvi, a former spokesman for the alliance.
"It was pretty clear how much damage he had done," Warvi said of the group's inability to go forward.
Warvi said he was disappointed that federal officials have not brought any charges against Strandlof.
"If he walks out of that jail parking lot, I think he'll disappear," Warvi said. "I would be very surprised if he stuck around."
Phony Combat vet is Freed
July 16, 2009
The Gazette, Colorado Springs,Colo.
<!-- Uncomment this when the Jive comments functionality is available --> A man who posed as a wounded Iraq war veteran walked out of the El Paso County jail in Texas free on Tuesday.
Richard Glen Strandlof -- who went by the name of Rick Duncan -- was released several hours after pleading guilty to unrelated charges of careless driving and not having a driver's license.
For his plea, a judge sentenced him to a $150 fine and 20 days in jail, plus one year of unsupervised probation. Strandlof had already served 21 days.
Using the Duncan alias, Strandlof had served as a leader of a statewide veterans group until three weeks ago, when he was exposed by other members of the group as a former psychiatric patient. His often emotional stories about being a wounded Marine captain and 9/11 survivor proved false.
FBI agents investigating the case arrested him three weeks ago on an El Paso County traffic warrant. Unable to post $1,000 bail, he had been in custody ever since.
Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit with a short haircut, Strandlof started the day by entering his plea before El Paso County Judge Jonathan Walker.
His public defender asked Walker to waive the usual court costs, noting that Strandlof didn't have much money.
"I don't believe you're being held on anything else, so you should be released," Walker said.
Although FBI agents made the initial arrest, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado has refused to confirm or deny whether Strandlof is under any federal investigation.
As Rick Duncan, Strandlof founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance, a group that worked to find transitional housing for homeless veterans.
The group disbanded in the wake of the revelations of Strandlof's fake military history, said Daniel Warvi, a former spokesman for the alliance.
"It was pretty clear how much damage he had done," Warvi said of the group's inability to go forward.
Warvi said he was disappointed that federal officials have not brought any charges against Strandlof.
"If he walks out of that jail parking lot, I think he'll disappear," Warvi said. "I would be very surprised if he stuck around."